Kiyemba et al. v. Obama et al. ('Kiyemba I') fr

Country of proceedings: United States
Context of crimes: "War on terror", Afghanistan, Pakistan, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (China)
Date: 2004 - present
Keywords: Terrorism, jurisdiction, habeas corpus

Docket No. 08-1234
Case No. 08-5424

Court documents
10-09-2008 - District Court Decision
18-02-2009 - District Court of Appeals Decision
03-04-2009 - Supreme Court: Petitions for Writ of Certiorari
29-05-2009 - Supreme Court: Brief for the Respondent's in Opposition
04-12-2009 - Petitioners Brief
05-02-2010 - Respondent's Brief
01-03-2010 - Supreme Court: Judgment Vacated and Case Remanded to Court of Appeals
05-03-2010 - Motion to Remand to the District Court of Colombia
28-05-2010 - District Court of Appeals Decision - Reinstating Previous Decision of February 2009
12-07-2010 - Petition for Rehearing en banc

Amici curiae filings (selected)
International Law Experts (11-12-2009)
Amnesty International et al. (11-12-2009)
American Civil Liberties Union (11-12-2009)
Lord Goldsmith et al. (11-12-2009)
Lt. Gen (Ret.) Scott C. Black et al. (12-02-2010)

Presentation of the case
Kiyemba et al. v. Obama et al. (a.k.a. 'Kiyemba I') concerns thirteen men from the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of China detained in Guantanamo Bay after the September 11 attacks on the United States. The men, captured in Afghanistan and Pakistan, are among a number of ethnic Uighurs still being detained at the facility despite the Combatant Status Review Tribunals determining in 2004 that the men no longer constitute a threat to the US.

On 10 October 2008, the District Court for Colombia ruled that the men should be released into the custody of supporters in the United States. However, on 18 February 2009, the District Appeals Court overruled this decision, stating that federal judges do not have the power to order the release of detainees from Guantanamo Bay into the US. The appeals court stated that the question is one of immigration, which is solely an issue for the Executive, not the Judiciary. On 20 October 2009, the Supreme Court of the United States agreed to hear the case.

In 2008 in the case of Boumediene et al. v. Bush at al., the US Supreme Court ruled that federal judges have jurisdiction to hear habeas corpus petitions from Guantanamo Bay detainees. The claimants in the present case argue that if the appeal court’s decision were to stand it would render the decision in Boumediene an empty gesture, since courts would be “powerless to relieve unlawful imprisonment” where detainees cannot be returned to their home countries or settled elsewhere. Hearings are expected in the case in February 2010, with the arguments essentially setting the judicial writ of habeas corpus against the immigration laws of the United States.

Related case
Boumediene et al. v. Bush at al.
Kiyemba II